A Future Uncertain
by mike50333
Summary: There once was a time when the Fire Nation was nearing victory in the war.  But with the massive Earth Kingdom army making an unstoppable march for Caldera, can the Children of Fire survive?    AU set with Aang, Zuko and Ozai's Angels. Contains Ty Laang.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I swear, I am _good _for stacking work up. I've got three multi-chap stories that have been neglected (two of which I'm working to revitalize) and one active multi-chap, and now I'm tacking on another. How many brands of crazy am I?**

**Okay, before I start yammering like I oftentimes do, I should give credit where credit is due. Inspiration for this story came directly from _TheBlueFoxtrot A Samba_'s W****arehouse of Imaginations, specifically, Chapter 26. Seriously, before you read my story, I suggest reading that one-shot. Not only does it help explain (partially) just WTF is going on in this AU, but it's also just plain funny!**

**So, As I was saying, this is my beloved creation. I'd spill info about the timeline, the plot, and the AU changes, but I find it's more fun to spill those details as the story rolls along. Speaking of rolling along, given the [potentially] extreme complexities that a story like this will demand, expect each chapter to take up-to one or one-and-a-half months to be posted. I'll certainly try to move faster, but I don't wanna make any promises I can't keep, especially with my having four still-active stories and school and life all still being major factors.  
**

**Hope you enjoy, and as always, Read, Revel (or Regurgitate) and Review!**

**NOTE/DISCLAIMER: First and Foremost, I own nobody in the Avatar Universe who is not an OC, of which I have none currently. Secondly and still foremost (I know that makes no sense), JESUSFREAK-And-Proud-Of-It will be my Chief Beta for this project. Jiao-Jie, Sun Daughter, and Forever Fyre are my secondaries and will be called upon as needed.**

* * *

_A Future Uncertain_

_Prologue_

The smell and sounds of burning wood and metal filled Ty Lee's senses, assisting the wave of nausea that was already brought on by Death's grueling breath. Explosions rattled Caldera as zeppelins and gliders hovered overhead, dropping their munitions in a carpet bombing fashion, having long established air superiority in the sky above.

The moon's curse upon the sun was finally lifted, but it did not matter now. The remains of airships and tanks littered the streets. Fire swept through much of the city, turning the once beautiful ruby-red of the buildings to a deathly tar-black. As her eyes followed the billows of smoke that choked the sky, Ty Lee fought back tears as she beheld this scene. Her home and her hope were both going up in flames.

The acrobat fought to keep her mind focused on the battle at hand. Ty's arms and legs were covered with bruises and cuts. Her beloved circus garbs were tattered and torn. Her mind was racing, her head growing dizzy. Her body was exhausted, having taken down more enemies than she could try to count and suffering more hits than she would dare admit.

She threatened to collapse as she dodged a boulder chucked at her by an earthbender, one in a seemingly infinite legion that vowed to overwhelm her. She prepared to charge him when another earthbender shifted the ground beneath her. Her legs, burning in protest, fought to maintain their balance. She stole a glance to her left towards the new threat, just in time to see an assailant charging for her friend.

"Aang, watch your left!"

The Avatar ducked beneath an earthy spear and snapped his body to meet the threat, using a bent air current to lift the soldier off the ground and over his head. He winced as the man fell back to earth, his skull cracking hard against the ironclad palace behind him. Rebounding from this slight twinge of guilt, the nomad blasted a torrent of fire against a duo of swordsmen that was approaching from the left flank. They scattered to opposite sides of the roaring flame as they pressed forward.

Ty Lee was barely managing to hold her ground against her own enemies. With a haphazard looking dip, a frightened spin, a punishing leap to the side, she narrowly avoided the pillars that threatened to knock her head from her shoulders. She glanced anxiously at Aang to see how he was fairing when she noticed two more pairs of soldiers barreling towards him from behind. She couldn't warn him of the soldiers, for fear of his being caught by the swordsmen. Yet she wouldn't dare let him be downed by the unseen threat.

She delivered a quick flurry of punches to her opponents to knock them back before turning to retreat. She burst into a hard pressed run, shifting into a speeding cartwheel and catapulting herself into the air. She landed right in front of Aang's unseen predators in a pink blur, quickly downing them with a series of focused punches before they could fully register her presence. With his 6 o'clock cleared and hearing the pained grunts of full grown men, she knew that Aang had dispatched the swordsmen. She jumped back with a flip and landed behind the Avatar, shifting into a defensive stance.

They now stood back-to-back, her presence affirming to the airbender that she had him covered.

"How long…do you think we can…hold out?" the girl huffed, staring down their predators with an unforgiving sense of terror as they moved to encircle them.

Aang's stare threatened to bore holes into the soldiers that now surrounded them as they made their menacing approach. "For as long as we can. If they capture the Fire Lord, then it's all over."

Ty Lee nodded sadly. Even with all the optimism that both she and Aang could muster, they knew their worst-case scenario was their reality. The invasion had been fast and furious. Tens of thousands of soldiers had been killed all around them. Now, she and Aang were the only ones keeping the Earth Kingdom from storming the palace and claiming total victory in the war.

Looking to the burning noir palace, she fought the urge to cry. Countless generations of Fire Lord called that palace home. In many ways, it'd become her _own_ home. The Fire Lady had all but raised her beyond those sheltered black walls. She played with her best friends there, friends who'd come to be like brothers and sisters to her.

"So, this is our last stand." Ty Lee voiced shakily. Despite the blasts of sadness that pounded at her heart, she managed a smirk. "At least we'll go down swinging."

"We're gonna make it out of this," Aang said in assurance, all the while wincing from his own cuts and bruises. "We still have a date on Ember Island, and you still have to teach me how to play Kuei Ball, remember?"

Ty couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, well _you _promised to teach me how to make me Shitake Mushroom Barley Soup." Aang smiled in acknowledgment before returning his glance to the surrounding soldiers.

The troops prepared to make their final push against the duo when a voice ripped their attention to the entrance of the Fire Nation Palace.

"Seriously, you guys are still here?" A girl asked tauntingly, her confidence far outshining her banged up appearance.

Ty Lee stared in shock, not at all expecting her entrance. "Azula, what are you doing?"

"Come now, Ty Lee, you know I'm not going to stand idly while a bunch of Earth Kingdom bastards take our home." Azula then turned her amber eyes to the sea of soldiers. "Well, you're looking for the Fire Lord? You've found her." A smirk slithered up her face. "Come get some."

If the soldiers were fazed by the fact that their final target was a 14 year old girl with a bandaged head, they successfully hid it as they all went into a full-on charge towards her Majesty. Azula responded by directing a bolt of lightning at the center of the platoon. Screams filled the air as the resulting explosion threw dozens of men skyward. Aang assisted in breaking the charge by shifting the ground beneath the rear of the platoon, while Ty Lee jumped into the middle of what still remained of the stampede, disabling whoever she could jab her fingers into.

Azula looked with a content and mocking smile at the small band of troops that remained of her first wave as they continued to press toward her. They were only a couple dozen meters from her now. _Three…two…one. _Her smile strengthened when she heard an ever familiar whistle from behind.

Right before the soldiers could get in contact range, they suddenly found themselves flying back from whence they came, slamming into other troops who were still in approach and toppling the charge.

"Right on time, Mai," Azula commented coolly.

The knife-thrower simply stopped at her friend's side, her expression unreadable, as always. "I'm surprised our beloved little commander isn't here. No way she would pass up the chance to take you down, not to mention the Capitol."

Azula snorted, her passiveness burning to a crisp as she observed the still overwhelming forces that yet stormed through the Caldera Royal. "No doubt she's here," Azula said, her clever smirk shifting to a spiteful sneer. "I've been waiting for a rematch with that _griffon_." She glanced to Aang and Ty Lee as they retreated to her position at the top of the shallow stairs.

"How are you two lovebirds holding up?"

Before either could relay a response, the ground beneath them exploded, sending the teens flying towards the palace. Ty Lee and Aang barely managed to recover from the burst, hitting the ground and skidding to a stop on their feet with the fort walls at their backs. Azula slammed hard into the bastion's exterior, tumbling to the ground all the while howling in pain as her head throbbed afresh with piercing agony. Mai flew into the entrance of the building, sliding to a stop in the narrow hall.

The dust cleared to reveal another girl, around their age, but strikingly short in stature. Her eyes were foggy green, frowning with a combination of contempt and satisfaction, the latter emotion more prevalent in her smirk. Dressed in a black robe with green trim, she stood at the head of a band of earthbenders, all dressed the same, but all of a lower rank as indicated by their domed hats.

As Azula rose up from her downed place on the ground, she glared with hatred upon recognizing the girl. Commander Toph, leader of the Dai Li Special Ops force. She had them pinned at the funneled palace entrance.

"I see you finally came out of your dirty burrow, you wench," Azula spat.

Toph's smirk was left unwavering. "What's the matter, Sparky? Still mad at how I wasted your loser brother?"

The Fire Lord's brows dug trenches into her face, her scowl turning almost demonic. "You won't catch _me _by surprise like you did Zuko."

"I hope not," Toph coolly taunted. "Otherwise, killing you and your pitiful friends and taking this rathole of a capitol wouldn't be as satisfying."

Azula was red hot with hatred. "You won't lay a _hand_ on my friends!"

"Wasn't planning to." Toph motioned a hand forward. "Take the lackeys, boys. Her 'Highness' is mine."

Azula, despite the agonizing inferno swelling in her head, took stance to defend the others, sparks popping from her finger tips.

Ty Lee joined Azula's side, determined to stay with her 'til death. Aang and Mai also joined with the Fire Lord, declaring the same silent vow.

Staring Death itself in the face, the acrobat found herself thinking of what all transpired in the past year. So much had happened since Zuko and Azula first found the Avatar. She couldn't help but wonder…was there anything that happened in that seemingly eternal span of time that could've turned the tide of this conflict? Was it possible that this band of teens really could've prevented this? One last question flashed on her mind as she saw Azula tense up, ready to charge.

Was there still a chance to save the Fire Nation and the balance of this world?

* * *

**F/N: So yeah, I'm starting at the end and rolling back to the beginning. I've seen this done in a few books, including several novels from one of my favorite authors, Nicholas Sparks. This was a risky move for me because it reveals the end result of the story before it truly starts, and I also had to try and avoid revealing too much information (something I still fear I've done.) At the same time, I have to have enough details to make the story interesting and wanting to know more (Toph's rise to heading the Dai Li, the Dai Li itself being converted into a special-ops military unit, Azula's rise to Fire Lord, etc.) I promise these will be revealed in due time.  
**

**On a lighter, more useless note, it just hit me. This story marks the 25,700th story in the Avatar: The Last Airbender Fandom! For kicks, it's the 5546th story under the Aang category, the 536th under the Ty Lee category, and the 9th to feature the two as main characters in a given story.**

**Anywho, that's all for now! Don't forget to leave a review by pressing that green button below and typing a bunch of words (hopefully into a coherent series of complete sentences). :D**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well folks, this is where our journey begins, in the cold arctic seas of the South Pole. Quite a bit will happen in this premiere chapter, so make sure to READ IN SECTIONS! The mistake I made in Destiny's Crossroads was that I was all over the place with the word count in my chapters, and with some of the ADHD folks in my audience, I felt it necessary to keep each chapter short. This, however, really helped to chop up the action and as I re-read the chaps more and more, it gets more painful to read. So yeah, I won't be doing that anymore. However long the chapter will be, it will be. **

**So my advise for my fellow ADHD sufferers: read in sections.**

**Anyway, anyone whose name doesn't come up under the Character(A)/(B) tab when your searching these stories, I own. Otherwise, they belong to Mike and Bryan.**

**Finally, beta-ing credit goes to JESUSFREAK-And-Proud-Of-It, Sun Daughter, Jaio-Jie, and Forever Fyre (Yup, I pulled out the entire deck of cards for this starter chapter.)**

**Now let's hit it!**

* * *

_A Future Uncertain_

_Chapter 1_

_Nine Months Ago…_

Azula stood on the deck of the Fire Nation Battleship _Draconigena_, staring at the water that parted ahead of her at the ship's bow. The air around her was cold and silent. Even with the heavy armor donned on her shoulders, the wintry breeze sent a deathly chill up her spine.

Lifting her head towards the icy expanse of the freezing ocean waters, she looked towards the lines and pockets of glaciers that populated the otherwise empty environment, illuminated by the soft-white light of the moon. For the longest time she simply stared at it, her hands griping the guardrail with the constriction power of a boa.

"_I hate this place._"

Her ears twitched as the shuffle of shoes joined the sound of the ocean waves that permeated the air.

"You've only said that a hundred times, now."

She turned to see Zuko standing behind her, cloaked in his own armored regalia and cape. His arms were crossed he wore a weak smile. The Fire Princess returned to her brother an indifferent stare.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we'll be at the rendezvous point soon."

"I'm aware," she returned, her tone monotonous.

Zuko shrugged. "Just making sure." There was a pause between them before Zuko began again. "Something bugging you?"

"Aside from the fact that we're stuck in the middle of a lifeless frozen tundra while our country is on the brink of military destruction, no; I feel just peachy-_keen_, Zuzu."

The Fire Prince's brows flat-lined at her scathing sarcasm. "That's why we're here, Azula, to petition the Southern Water Tribe for their support. They've remained neutral for most of this conflict, and since receiving the cease-fire pact from Uncle, they haven't tried to bother us at all."

"And acquiring their support would help us to fight against the Earth Kingdom armadas that are harassing our islands. I get it," she droned. This was only the one-hundredth time she'd had that explained to her. "Even so, don't you see anything _wrong_ with this scenario?"

"This is a _necessity_, Azula."

"A necessity? This is nothing but a show of weakness." Azula's firm glare failed to make Zuko secede from his foolish opinions, yet she continued with her point. "How can you be so blind to how wrong this situation is? The Fire Nation should have won this war by now; the Earth Kingdom should be under our heel, begging for mercy. We _shouldn't_ have to ask a bunch of Water Tribe savages to watch our backs."

"You know the situation can't be helped at this point," he sighed.

"It _could've _been helped. It's Uncle's fault that we're in this mess."

"That's wrong, and you know it, Azula!"

"That's _right_, and _you_ know it, Brother!" Azula's slim brows began to burrow into her face. Anger was building within her, and though her mind was screaming at her to keep her cool, the words kept blasting from her mouth. "It's _his_ fault that we lost the six-hundred day siege! It's _his _fault that our troops were pulled out of the Earth Kingdom! It's _his _fault that-" Her voice caught in her throat, a sudden pang in her heart freezing the rest of her tirade. Her face for the briefest of seconds seemed to grimace before she regained control. She breathed in and back out and finished. "It's his fault that the war effort has been completely wasted, that the deaths of our soldiers for the past hundred years were made vain."

"The second we stepped on Earth Kingdom soil with weapons in hand, their deaths were made vain," Zuko corrected scornfully. "Our 'Great March of Civilization' was nothing more than a march of greed, stealing away whatever resources we could find or pillage and killing anyone who dared stand in our way."

Azula grimaced at the Prince's words like they were a bitter tea. Their Uncle had gotten to him, twisting his young, malleable mind with those ridiculous thoughts of ushering in peace, kindness, and equality. Father would have burned his prissy face for such foolishness.

"The war has always been a necessity, now more than ever," Azula countered. "We're not just fighting for resources anymore, we're fighting for _survival._ Because of our fuddy-duddy _Fire Lord_, the Earth Kingdom's military machine has been allowed to surge while ours stagnates and whittles."

"So, _what_? You propose we try and renew our 'Take Over the World' strategy?"

"Certainly not, Zuko," she responded, sarcasm dripping from her teeth. "That would be wrong and _evil! _And more importantly, we no longer have the military clout for such a necessary endeavor. What we _need_ to do is lion-turtle our defenses and finish what we started; making a push for Ba Sing Se. We took down that wall, before. We can do it again, and actually take the _city_ this time."

"You know Uncle's finally given in to that strategy-"

"Five years late," Azula sneered.

"Regardless," Zuko returned. "If we have Water Tribe mercenaries guarding our seas, we will be able to dedicate more troops to the front. Don't you think that would be useful to your endeavors?"

Azula glared at him. "Of course it would be helpful, Brother, but at what price to our ideals, our pride, our _principles?_"

"What principles? The only principle our country has practiced for one-hundred years is a Scorched Earth policy- burn anything and anyone that moves! The Fire Nation can't afford that sort of wretched strategy, not in terms of economy or international standing, not now or in the future!"

Azula's glare strengthened, and she crossed her arms with a condescending grunt. "Father was right. You truly _are _weak. Just like Mother and Uncle."

Zuko simply glared back. "And yet _Father_ is dead. What a coincidence." His voice was cold and cruel. His face lacked remorse. Having had enough of his sister for one night, the Prince whipped around and skulked under deck to his quarters.

Azula glared after him, not moving from her place at the head of the ship. She could feel her anger rise again, her sorrow trying to drown her in a sea of tears. Her breathing quickened and her jaw was starting to clench. Sobs surged for her mouth. When she made no efforts to quell their advance, a familiar voice echoed in her head.

* * *

"_What are you doing?"_

_Prince Ozai stood perched over Azula who was sitting on her royal divan. Her face was buried in her hands. Muffled sobs could be heard between small slender fingers. She lifted her face, speckled with tears, to her father, sucking the dribbling mucus back into her nose and swallowing it down as she received his disapproving glare. She stared at him, desperately swiping away the tears that stained her face and stained her honor in her father's eyes._

_The child sat still, immobilized by the fear of his wrath, unable to even stammer a response. Instead, she sucked in slow, silent breaths in an attempt to regain her composure._

_When no words came from the girl, Ozai growled the question again._

"_What are you doing? Do _not _ignore my inquiry, child."_

_She bowed her head in both reverence and dread, shielding her eyes from her father's._

"_I'm sorry," Azula whimpered._

_She only saw a blur of red from his royal robes before feeling a jolting sting upon her cheek. Her nails clawed into her silk bedding as her head flew to the side. Before she could stop it, a sob jumped from her mouth. Her head jerked the other way, a second sting flaring on her other cheek. Unwilling to receive a repeat performance, she locked eyes with her Father and Prince, strangling her breath to keep another sob from breeching the air._

"_Why do you insist on embarrassing me with such displays of weakness?"_

"_I am…sorry, Father," she replied, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I did not mean to disrespect you. It's just that ever since… Since I started showing my fire bending to Zuko, he won't play with me anymore. He hates me."_

"_This is nothing but a result of jealousy by Zuko. This makes him weak. But _your_ weakness is of your own doing. Affection is for the feeble-minded, for those who cannot wield control, for those who cannot invoke fear." _

_Ozai lumbered over his daughter. _

"_If you remember but one thing, remember this," he continued. "The road to power is paved through fear and respect. These are the only reliable paths to power and conquest. Love and affection show only dependability and trust, that you _need_someone. This need will be your downfall if you allow it to befall you. If you are to succeed the throne some day, you cannot allow for the infestation of such feeble emotion. Do you understand?"_

_Without so much as a snivel, Azula nodded her head, eyes locked on her father's. _

"_Good." Ozai turned and left Azula to truly process what was told her. Upon reaching the doorway, he turned to her one last time._

"_Remember, Azula…"_

* * *

"…_Princesses aren't weak."_

She tore off her saddened scowl, moved to the middle of the deck, and turned to the stern-side of the ship. She forced her breathing to stabilize and emptied her mind of thoughts and feelings. She parted her feet, taking a rooted stance on the ship deck. She then rotated her arms and hands in a slow, deliberate circular motion in front of her. Her breathing was steady and methodical. As she practiced this kata, Azula began to gradually lean more into her movements, increasing the flexibility of her originally frigid form. With mind at a strange state of peace, sparks started to dance on her fingertips. After several more swipes through the air, she joined her fingertips together, and then separated them again, thrusting a hand to her front while holding another behind her to help stabilize her. A bolt of lightning soared from her outstretched fingers and into the vast icy expanse. The bergs were bathed in a flash of icy cobalt as the bolt flew out into infinity.

She couldn't help but smile as she listened to the resulting powerful clap of thunder that bounced against the blocks of ice surrounding her. With her energy suddenly spent, she stumbled and fell with her back to the ship's outer railing. Sliding down onto the metal plates below, she looked to the sky.

"I promise to always do you proud, Father."

* * *

Azula stood in one of the many halls in the Fire Nation Royal Palace. Before her was the grand tapestry of Fire Lord Sozin, the man behind the hundred-year war and the man for whom she held the greatest admiration. She stared proudly at her great-grandfather in all his glory, gazing in wonderment at how the very flames that surrounded this masterful military crusader seemed to bow in reverence to his Excellency. She was completely enraptured until she heard a noise from one of the adjunct halls.

Starting down one of the Palace's many halls, she strolled towards the sound. She shortly identified it to be a voice. It was calling for her, but it sounded like it was miles away, barely audible. Progressing closer to it, the voice grew louder, more anxious and frantic. Soon, she could recognize it.

Zuko.

She figured that it was nothing and started to turn away. Zuko was always one to overreact to things...

So why had she turned back? Why was her heart starting to race? Why was she in a cold sweat? Why were her feet pounding the floor as an overwhelming need to reach her brother consumed her?

Nearing her brother's room, she heard the cries grow even louder, to the level of torture. What was happening to him? Turning down to the corridor of their living quarters, Azula pushed her feet harder against the ground, the red-and-gold pillars at her sides turning to a blur around her. Slamming through the door, she burst into his room.

"Zuko!"

* * *

Her eyes flew open and the princess found that she was no longer in the palace, but was sitting erect in her cot aboard their ship. A cold layer of sweat saturated her clothe. They stuck to her skin, making her shiver. She crawled from under her covers and rested her feet on the floor. Her fingers dug into her hairline.

_Why won't these stupid dreams stop?_

Azula shook her head, freeing her mind of the images from her night's sleep. She then got up from her cot and worked through a series of stretches before entering her washroom.

She always felt cramped in this tiny room. Of course, all the essential amenities were present: washbasin, toilet, bathtub, and cabinet, but that was it, just a simple, barebones bathroom. No relaxing scented candles, no red rose petals surrounding the tub's rim, and certainly no space for a royal hair combing station (let alone the servants to the combing). Nothing that reminded her of the comforts of home.

With the water drawn, she removed her garments and stepped into the bath. For a few minutes, she lay in the warm water, enjoying the embrace of heat upon her person. This personal time of relaxation grew increasingly dire for the princess during her time out at sea. It provided one of the few times she could forget the recent blights in her life. Forget about being stuck in the icy hell the Water Tribes called home. Forget about having to ask a bunch of blubber-eating savages for help. Forget about her country's fall from grace in the war…

Forget the loss of her father.

Feeling pleasantly heated, she cleansed herself of the dirt and filth from the previous day. After rinsing her hair of shampoo and wringing out the excess water, she exited the bath and drained the water. She fetched herself a towel and wrapped it around her torso.

Looking back at the tub, she scowled at the brown stains left behind. She knelt down and opened the cabinet door across the room from the tub, retrieving a metal cylander. Placing the plug back into the drain, she poured the liquid into the large basin. A strong scent of lemon grabbed at her nostrils as she returned to the cabinet and grabbed a rag.

Of all the things provided them on this ship, it continued to baffle her how Uncle neglected proper servant staffing.

She scrubbed at the dirt with a ferocity that matched her agitation at having to performing this chore.

Those in royalty weren't meant to perform such _lowly tasks! _Of course, Father taught her that strength came in self-reliance, but surely the line had to be drawn _somewhere_!

After several moments of dirt eradication, Azula ran the water one last time, removing the dark scum from the porcelain surface. With the filth down the drain and the bath finally ready for tomorrow's use, she placed the cleaning items back under the cupboard, finished drying herself, and returned to her cabin to put on her clothes.

While she rued this day for so many reasons, she _did _appreciate _one_ thing: after the negotiations were complete, they could finally start on their way home. Back to some sense of normalcy.

After adorning her outer garments, she started to put on her armor. She wasn't taking her chances with these Water Tribe mercenaries. It would be another twenty minutes before she was finally fully dressed, just in time to hear her brother's voice on the other side of the door.

"Azula, you up?"

"Yes, brother dearest, I'm awake," she groaned. "What do you want?"

"We have a problem." His voice was calm, but assertive. Azula opened the door. Fully dressed in his armored regalia as well, his eyes trained straight onto hers, his body tense. It was serious.

Zuko started for the deck with Azula at his side.

"What's going on, Zuko?"

"The helmsman has reported an Earth Kingdom armada blocking our path."

Azula perked a slender brow. _They are traveling pretty far just to harass us. _The two were ascending the stairs now.

"Did he report how many ships?"

"So far, only two. They're cruisers."

_Too few to be a legible threat._

Upon reaching the deck of the ship, Azula grabbed her scope and put it to her eye. Sure enough, there were two ships floating in the water. Metal-clad Cruisers. Built similar to Fire Nation warships, the shorter, domed towers and green-lit bridge towers confirmed their denotations as Earth Kingdom vessels.

Replacing the scope, Azula moved immediately towards te base of the bridge.

Positioning her mouth near a large cluster of golden pipes protruding from the floor, she issued her commands. "All hands to your stations. Stand at the ready, but do _not _engage unless ordered." She moved to a second group of pipes, much smaller a cluster than the last. "Helmsman, keep an eye out for more ships. I don't want us falling into an ambush."

A bright green sparkling flare rose into the air from one of the blockading ships, illuminating the vessels in the night as they came to a stop in the water.

"I do believe we're being hailed," Azula surmised.

A booming voice swept over the sea, confirming her suspicions.

"Fire Nation vessel, this is the Earth Kingdom cruiser _Badger_. You are entering an Earth Kingdom protectorate. Turn around immediately, or be fired upon."

"_Uncle never briefed us on an Earth Kingdom blockade,"_ Zuko whispered to his sister.

A scowl lifted on Azula's face. _I do not have time for this. _"Zuko, go deal with them."

Without a word, the Prince climbed to the communications room of the bridge and lifted a large cone from the center of the communications console. A large boom rose above the ship from the tip of the bridge; the boom was about as wide as his shoulder-span, and nearly fifteen feet high. From the top of this sprouted black-colored horn from the front-side of the boon, leaving a sectored hole; another sector rose and snapped in place to cover this new hole.

"This is the Fire Nation Battleship, _Draconigena_. We are traveling to the Southern Water Tribe naval base to discuss diplomatic affairs. Move aside."

Hearing her brother's voice over the comm., Azula cringed at his words. _"Dum-dum!" _She would have to explain the importance of _withholding _one's intentions from the enemy.

If he survived the thrashing she'd give him after this day closed out.

"I repeat, this area is under the protective envelop of the Earth Kingdom," the hailing cruiser responded. "Fire Nation presence is unwelcome. You are being warned for the final time to turn around."

Zuko replaced the cone and sighed. _"This is just what we need." _He picked up a cone on the far-right side of the console. "They're not listening to us, Azula. What do you want us to do?"

"Have the helmsman keep his present course and help him with spotting any additional ships. I'll handle the rest."

Zuko noticed the twinge of irritation in Azula's voice as she relayed her instructions. He then communicated the affirmative and climbed to the pilothouse.

Azula continued to give her orders, instructing the trebuchet operators to ready their munitions and prepare to return fire, and to have the ballistaes mounted at the front starboard and port flanks of the ship loaded with harpoons.

Grabbing the looking glass holstered at her hip, she observed the enemy ships. Their munitions were loaded into their own trebuchets and were ready for firing. She smirked. Just like the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom used burning coals in their trebuchets. However, because of the lack of firebenders to light the coals, they had to be lit with a torch. The munitions would take longer to completely light, and thus the firing rate was drastically reduced.

After several minutes of suspenseful anticipation, the cruisers launched their munitions. Two trails of fire streaked in the sky before diving for the battleship. Azula ordered her men to fire their rounds. With the coals lit, the trebuchets shot them skyward. Eight trails of fire tracked for the ships. Two of the munitions collided with the shots fired from the enemy while the remaining six continued towards their targets. Screams saturated the battlefield as the hailing ship was devoured in fire, smoke pouring from the vessel and flames climbed for the sky from their deck and bridge.

Smirking in satisfaction at the kill, Azula ordered the helmsman to push the ship ahead full steam.

The remaining ship fired off a second round from its rear-most trebuchet. This however missed its mark and splashed harmlessly before the gangplank. In response, the battleship returned fire again. Burning coal rained down on the second cruiser, engulfing it in flames. Cheers sounded around Azula as sailors celebrated their victory. Azula, however, simply stared impassively at the two plumes of flame, the brightest points in the nightscape.

_It's strange that they thought two measly cruisers – light ones at that – would be enough to sink a battleship like the _Draconigena. _Something's not right._

As the ship continued its push forward, they started to pass the crippled cruisers. At Azula's command, the flanking ballistaes launched their harpoons into the water, piercing the hulls of the cruisers beneath the waves before retracting back. The ballistaes sunk their teeth in again, leaving two massive holes in the ships and forcing members of the crews to abandon ship.

"No sign of any additional ships, Princess," the helmsman reported as they cruised past.

"Keep an eye out," she ordered. "I get the feeling we're not out of the woods…"

Her ears perked slightly when she heard a soft pop ripple across the ocean. Her head rotated towards the muffled explosion, just in time to be greeted with a splash off the port-bow.

_What was that?_

She got her answer. Two more splashes rose from the water out of nowhere before a flash of light blinded her. The ship shuddered violently and everyone on the deck was thrown to the floor.

Azula grabbed at the side of her head, pulsing in pain from hitting the metal wall of the bridge.

"What in the…" Her face morphed into a quivering scowl as she saw smoke plume in front of her. The ship had been hit by something on the center-port side.

_Of course, I get _exactly_ what I did not_ _want!_

Working to keep her balance as the rocking continued, Azula rushed to the weapons communication pipes.

"All hands, report! Did anyone see where that shot came from?"

From one of the pipes, she heard the panicked cries of a hapless sailor muffled beneath an officer's attempt to give his report.

A loud smack sounded through the pipe before the officer's voice came on comm., again.

"Get it together, you idiot!" When his voice sounded again, it was calm and respectful, appropriate for addressing Azula. "We didn't see anything, Princess."

More reports streamed in.

"Negative, Princess."

"No, it came out of nowhere!"

"Are you sure we didn't just hit an ice patch?"

Growling at the reports, she grabbed the communication pipe for the pilothouse.

"Zuko, we're under attack and have taken damage. We're being ambushed. Find the ship that's firing on us."

"I just found it, Azula… Oh, this is a problem."

"What is it, Zuko?"

"This ship, it looks like a cruiser, but it's…different."

"You're going to have to be a little more specific," she growled from her side of the pipes.

"I can't really describe it… You'll have to look for yourself."

Azula hissed. _I swear you can be really useless sometimes. _Heeding Zuko's direction, Azula grabbed her scope and extended it to the maximum magnification as Zuko guided her gaze from the pilothouse.

Straight away, she confirmed Zuko's report that it was an Earth Kingdom cruiser; the size of the ship certainly matched the denotation. But something caught her eye that made her uneasy. There was something bizarre near the front of the ship's deck. Instead of the traditional weapons used on Fire Nation and even Earth Kingdom ships, namely the trebuchets and ballistaes, a pair of strange looking platforms positioned in a line along the ship's deck with one raised above the other took their place. Protruding from each of these platforms was a pair of elongated cylinders. They looked rather small from the distance, even _with _the scope, with one pair jutted towards her ship and the other rotating from the port-bow and gaining track on the same. The sailors were loading something into them from the side of the turrets.

A few seconds later, a flash of fire burst from the turrets, soon followed a soft pop. The same pop from earlier.

Next thing she knew, she was hands-and-knees on the deck. Icy water rained down as a deafening explosion rang loud in her ears. She snapped her head towards the bow to see the gangplank had been hit, leaving a gaping hole that extended to the port-side harpoon launcher.

_So, the Earth Kingdom has a new toy. _A confident smirk rose to her face._ Time to play Snatchies._

Azula grabbed the communication pipe for the pilothouse. "Helmsman! Set course for that cruiser. Zuko, ready the boarding party."

Zuko ripped the pipe from the console on his end. "Boarding party? Azula, you saw what that thing did to the gangplank! We'll be ripped to shreds long before we get within boarding distance of that thing!"

"Good point," Azula acknowledged. She took pause and put the looking glass to her eye again. Something about those turrets piqued her interest, but she needed a better look. After replacing the scope in its holster, she swiftly ascended the stairs of the bridge and reached the pilothouse level. She then leaned on the gold rail and looked to the ship again.

_Just as I thought._

"Change of plans," Azula announced to the helmsman through one of the windows. "Take us to back side of that iceberg, but don't take a direct route. Wait for us to get hit again and reverse course. Make it look like a retreat."

She could hear Zuko's gruff yet submissive sigh coming from behind her. "I assume you've found a weakness?"

"Indeed I have," she smirked. "It's the turrets." Zuko perked a brow in intrigue. "Their firepower compared to our trebuchets and harpoons, and even to our explosive ballistaes, is unmatched. However, there's a design flaw."

Azula handed her brother the scope as another pop sounded. After another splash, Zuko put it to his eye. "See how the turrets are aligned right in front of each other, and how they're almost flush up against the bridge?"

"Yeah, I do, but… Wait, I see now. They can only rotate so far. There's a restriction on their envelope of fire."

"Exactly. And even better, there are no weapons in the stern, yet there's extra space behind the engine."

"A good landing zone for the boarders."

Azula grinned coolly. She'd teach her brother the mechanics of war, yet.

With confidence in his sister's plan now solidified, Zuko finally heeded her prompt and instructed the boarding party to the deck. Twenty soldiers stood at the ready.

Azula ordered the trebuchet operators to fire three salvos of coal at the ship to soften their on-deck defenses. Fire rained down on the enemy vessel and screams pierced the air, but the turrets still fired as hit after hit racked Azula's ship. With smoke billowing from the ravaged port, the helmsman set course for a hasty "retreat."

* * *

A sigh filled the stoic Hóngmù Forest.

A girl dressed in a long, flowing robe, the colors of blood-red and jet-black marking the fabric, and baggy pants with equally red coloring, strode down a long, wide path in the middle of a vast forest of redwood sequoias. She was easy enough to spot, her dark colors acting like a beacon against the red shine of the late-autumn sun and the orange and red leaves. Tall and lanky in figure, she held her hands within her sleeves.

"When Fire Lord Iroh said I needed to travel to Omashu to request King Bumi's support, he didn't say anything about being inconvenienced by _you_."

"Oh come on, Mai. You know you enjoy my company."

Another girl strolled at her side, her sunny disposition only rivaled by the bright and cheery colors adorned on her circus attire. She could easily camouflage in the reds of the trees if she so wished, and her steps were so light, a rat-shrew could scarcely sense her presence.

"Hardly," Mai dimly complained, regretting having ever stopped by that travelling circus by the village of Xīn Yu. "It's _your _fault we're in the situation we're in." Her head started to dip and her eyes were batting away sleep.

Mai's acquaintance looked at her with innocent eyes. "What situation?"

_Sorry, but I don't do coy. _"Should I start with your losing our money and food in that stupid bet, or would you rather I begin with our blind wandering around in this giant forest?"

"I told you, Mai, this is the quickest way to get to Gaipan."

"Yet it's taken us some four days to get nowhere close to it," Mai scoffed. Golden iris's surrounded by pools of red finally tracked on the perky girl. "And what of your losing our food and money?"

"Mai, I already said I was sorry," she whined. "I mean, how was I supposed to know that guy could out-bend me by dislocating his joints like that? And as old as he was, too? I mean, was I _seriously_ the only one grossed out by that?"

"I was too mad at you to get grossed. Still am."

The other girl's cheeks puffed, her brows dipped, and her lips puckered. She then jabbed Mai in her arm and smirked when it went dead a second later.

Mai threw her friend a deathly glare. "Ty Lee!"

She crossed her arms, a hurt look falling on her features. "You'll get the feeling back in your arms when you stop being mad at me."

"Not happening."

Ty started to respond again but stopped for a brief second, her huge eyes staring into the forest as if in a trance. She then broke away from Mai and dashed full-speed down the path. Mai didn't even bother calling back to her, certain the girl was running faster than her yell could ever hope to travel. Instead, she walked to the nearest sequoia and leaned against its mighty trunk.

Mai could hear the slightest rustle of dried leaves rubbing against one another above her. Slumping slightly and laying her head back, her eyes guided to where the sound omitted.

She stared for a brief minute as the forest fell into an odd silence. The dark-cloaked girl only broke from her entranced stare when Ty Lee's voice ranged out.

"Mai, check it out!"

Mai leaned away from the trunk and readjusted the pack on her shoulders. She dawdled briefly, rubbing a knife extracted from beneath her sleeves between her fingers with her working hand. Finally, she started her leisurely stroll to where Ty was.

"So, what'd you wanna show me? Some stupid singing gophers?"

Approaching the girl, Mai spied a triumphant glint in her eyes as she returned her gaze. Ty simply looked back towards her discovery, a hand stretched in guide. The biggest of smiles was on Ty's face, and her eyes were slit with glee and what appeared to be satisfaction. It didn't take long to see why the girl was so chipper. Standing at the edge of the ridgeline, there was a clear view of a small town, eight crème-white buildings lined in two neat rows with a small and equally white bordered wall surrounding its boundaries. It was situated beside a trickling creek.

It was the Fire Nation settlement of Gaipan. They'd arrived to their destination.

"Still mad at me?" Ty asked with a victorious edge to her voice. Mai refused to reply and shuffled for the town. Ty Lee followed with her pack and a beaming smile in tow.

* * *

Azula smirked as they slowly stalked towards their prey. Everything was going exactly according to plan so far. After the last salvo from the enemy cruiser, the battleship went into full-on retreat. After sailing a few miles back from whence they'd come, Azula had the smoke burning from the incinerators closed off from the smokestacks and released beneath the icy waves below. The result was a pool of black sludge that bubbled to the surface, staining the ocean in black blood and scarring the water as it trailed the ship. The smell bordered on nauseating, but it accomplished what Azula needed, concealing their approach.

Keeping the spyglass to her eye, she maintained constant watch on the activities of the ship from the observation deck on the bridge. The crew appeared to still be on alert, but overall activity had fallen off. The landing zone was currently empty of sailors.

Perfect.

With the lanterns of the bridge extinguished and the smoke bubbling beneath them, they were virtually invisible in the darkness, save for the smoke that still rose from the ship's port-side. It wasn't nearly as bad as before, as firebenders were able to calm the flames, but it would have been enough to give away their position. Thankfully, their stealth was assisted by an almost strange small splotch of cumulous cloud cover. She'd already ordered the trebuchets be loaded and ready for firing. Now she just had to get within proper firing range.

Zuko, impatient as always, voiced his concern about the lack of fire raining onto the ship.

"I have to wait for the right time, Brother. If we fire now, the shots are much more likely to miss their mark, and with the ship listing slightly to port, we can't afford any such mistakes. Instead, we will get in closer. These trebuchets have a sweet-spot, an ideal distance to ensure accuracy – about fifteen-hundred feet. When we've reached that distance, _then _we'll fire."

Zuko fell silent at the logic of his sister. Having a younger sibling that's more powerful _and _smarter than you - was he the _only _one who saw something wrong with that?

It only took another few moments to reach that sweet-spot. Azula gave the order and the trebuchets fired their munitions. The opposing ship was caught completely off-guard, the bombardment battering the bridge and devastating the engines. A series of explosions went off, a plume of fire surging for the stars. The mighty cruiser was now dead in the water. A sitting duck for Azula's boarding party.

The _Draconigena_ reignited the bridge lights, and the smokestacks came alive again with black soot. Closing the gap further, Azula had the helmsman kill the engines and drop the anchor. The damaged ship came to a stop.

With the gangplank shredded, Azula had the boarding vessels readied. Similar to the river jets used in the homeland, the boarding vessels used on the _Draconigena_ were larger, but light for their size and equally as maneuverable as their river counterparts, effective against the Chatting Cannons sometimes used aboard newer Earth Kingdom ships. Azula herself had them made specifically for her battleship, on the off-chance that a seizure would be paramount. This would prove to be one such case.

The crafts were lowered to the water after the firebenders went aboard and they jetted for the enemy ship. Azula kept her scoping eye on the vessel, watching for any surprises.

It was an easy enough victory. The few enemy troops that scrambled to the deck were swiftly routed, as were those under-decks. Most of the crew in the bridge were killed during the surprise attack; those who were left, including the ship's captain, surrendered to the boarding forces.

The battle had reached its climax. The _Draconigena_ would leave the theater a bit mangled, but in well fighting form and good spirits.

The enemy crew was taken aboard, and the _Draconigena_'s captain went boarded the cruiser as a temporary transfer of power. The captain quickly reported back that the ship's engines were damaged, but not destroyed like earlier expected; the rounds that impacted them forced the enemy captain to shut the engines off, wanting to avoid a cataclysmic explosion that would have certainly scuttled the ship. With a team of firebenders having silenced the flames, a group of engineers transferred to the ship to try and affect repairs.

The sun was beginning to rise. Azula grinned slightly as the beams of light skirted in a bright orange across the blue and white of the landscape. Finally, she would have at least a visage of heat and hope in this wasteland, plus, a captured enemy vessel to boot. If they were able to get it running despite the bombardment, it could make for a good supporting ship for the trip home.

If only their mission weren't still incomplete.

"All this has put us off-course of our rendezvous," Zuko reminded her. "We should get that done with and return for the crew and ship when we're finished."

With a wordless sneer, Azula yielded the point. The engines re-engaged and the battleship raised anchor, pulling alongside the captured vessel. The starboard plank closed the gap between the ships, Azula and the captain meeting in the middle.

She instructed Captain Yu Chén to keep an eye out for enemy vessels looking to scuttle the ship and handed him a flare gun with a single round loaded into it.

"If you can't get the weapons systems operational and you come under attack, shoot it off and we'll come in to support. Even _your _safety is more important than _this _wretched 'mission.'"

The captain stared after her as she returned to the battleship, not knowing whether to be gracious of her support or offended by her comparing the importance of his life to a mission.

* * *

"Something's not right here, Mai."

Ty Lee's voice was the only sound that wafted through the evening air as they walked through the small settlement. They'd not yet seen or heard evidence of a single soul besides their own since strolling into town. Nobody emerged from any of the buildings to greet them as they entered, and reaching the center of the colony, they noticed there was no trace of activity within the city structures.

"If you're so worried, why not check the buildings?"

Ty Lee immediately complied and started her search while Mai stayed put. Several minutes passed before the girl returned, face twisted in confusion.

"Nobody's here. This entire town is just…empty."

Mai shrugged. "Must've been abandoned since Fire Lord Iroh's decree to pull out of the Earth Kingdom."

"No, that _can't_ be it. Some of t5he houses still had Fire Nation helmets in them, and there are still pots and pans and bowls with food in them, and there's still tea in peoples' cups."

"Ty Lee, an entire village doesn't just clear out at the drop of a hat, even if it's a village as small as this. There must've been a raid."

"But even so, wouldn't the people who lived here still _be _here?"

Silence abounded as the girls tried to figure out what might have happened.

Eventually Ty Lee asked, "What do we do now?"

Mai shuffled the pack on her shoulders as they burned from weary.

"If this place _is _deserted, we can use it to rest and restock. We can hit that house for now," she suggested, pointing to the left house in the front row of the village. "Check there and the other houses for some supplies that we can take with us; we'll be starting back on the trail in the morning."

The acrobat frowned. "What are _you _gonna do?"

"I'll see if I can find us something to eat. I'm not chancing it with the butcher shop. The meats may be spoiled by now, if nothing's gone through there already and snagged the rest. Keep an eye out for anyone or anything suspicious while I'm gone."

Ty nodded. "You too, Mai."

The knife wielder bobbed her head once and started for the east gate of the village while Ty Lee trotted to 'their' house. She stopped briefly to watch her friend retreat in the domicile and then started back into the Hóngmù forest.

With her hands enclosed within her sleeves, each gripping a knife, she stared deadpanned into the trees.

And so, the hunt begins.

* * *

**Okay folks, before you all panic and start screaming, "Where the F*** is the bending? THIS ISN'T CALL OF F****** DUTY!", I assure you, bending will remain the primary and DOMINANT form of combat in this story. Just lemme explain.**

**As you may have guessed by now, the world is a **_**lot **_**different than in the series (as if the AU bit in the story description didn't hint enough at that). Combat-ready gliders being produced en-masse, the Earth Kingdom having an armada of airships, and bombs used as munitions were featured in the prologue chapter. Now we see warships using turret guns with explosive shells.**

**Recognize a commonality? **

**These are all wartime technologies featured in World Wars I & II. In the original series, the show did a decent job of incorporating a few of these technologies into the a world still dominantly using ancient war implements reminiscent of the era of the Roman Empire and various Asian dynasties. Welp, I'm more of a fan of World War II (WWI was pretty good in terms of battles and weapons, but the constant getting bogged down in the trenches really helped sour things.), so naturally, I wanted to see how far I can push these World War era technologies into applicability with the Avatar Universe. The basic idea for this story in terms of weaponry is to have what happens in real life happen between the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation: the establishment of a massive and rapid Arms Race, each nation trying to best the other in terms of firepower. **

**My challenge, though, will be maintaining realism in including these technologies, and keeping these new weapons from essentially eliminating the need for benders. Some technologies will have to be scaled down in terms of usability, and others just might not be able to be used. For example, as much as I'd love for the technology, it simply wouldn't make any sense to try and use airplanes in this universe (at least nothing outside of light, motorized gliders.) The technology and even knowledge of aerial flight just isn't there yet. And helicopters likely won't be practical in terms of technology, either, plus with zeppelins being so successful in the canon, there's no true need for them as a war implement (Plus airships survive into Korra's time - KORRA RULES! - so why mess with a good thing?). As you may have noticed, Gatlin guns will be in use in this story (called Chatter Cannons in the story, given that Richard Gatling doesn't exist here.) These will be restricted to fixed locations, such as medium and heavily armed warships and as a parameter weapon for military installations. Guns as a portable primary or side arm likely won't be used in this story because they would defeat the purpose of benders for whichever side invents and mass-produces them first. And of course, flamethrowers are not at all considered. The Fire Nation certainly doesn't need them, and what do you need that for as an earthbender when you can crush people with rocks and bury them alive?**

**Again, as I've pointed out before, the incorporation of these weapons are not meant to replace, or even _lessen _the use of bending. Bending will remain the mainstay of combat throughout this series. These additional weapons will be what they are in real life: merely supporting devices for the most important units in war, the infantry and mechanized units. (speaking of mechanized units, I'm pondering whether or not to incorporate tanks into the Earth Kingdom military; they did so in the canon...)**

**Well, that's all I've got for now. If you have any ideas or advise for me as I trudge along with this story, please feel free to share them with me, either through the little review button down there, or with a PM. All the help I can get with this tale will be much appreciated!**

**P.S.: And yeah, I gave Avatar's famously unnamed forest a name! **Hóngmù **is Chinese for mahogany. I'd originally wanted to call it Jùrén Hóngmù (Huge Mahogany, on account of the forest having giant sequoias), but I figured it'd be a bit long as a name.**

**Anywho, please leave a review! It's my bread and butter!**


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